Zinc oxide (ZnO), a II-VI semiconductor with broad range of applications due to its unique properties. In addition, its relatively low cost, superior chemical and mechanical stability (Look D. C. 2001), the availability of large-area substrates with desirable c-axis preferential growth nature and technological compatibility with the conventional silicon process (Lee et al., 2001) make it very desirable compound for many applications.
Alteration of ZnO's specifications, electronic and optical properties in particular, can be made by doping it with transition metals such as manganese, iron, cobalt, nickel, copper and lanthanides (europium, erbium, and terbium).
The Cu-doped ZnO semiconductor research was mainly directed to catalytic applications such as methanol synthesis (Bao et al. 2008), production of hydrogen by partial oxidation of methanol (POM) (Schuyten et al. 2009), carbon monoxide oxidation (Taylor et al. 2003), degradation of textile dye pollutants within aqueous solutions (Satish Kumar et al. (2011) and dilute magnetic semiconductors for spintronic devices (Kim et al. 2010, Wang et al. 2007).
Copper forms in different bonding states within ZnO lattice such as metallic)(Cu0, monovalent (CuI2O) and divalent (CuIIO), depending on the annealing conditions (temperature and oxygen pressure), where the fully oxidized divalent state Cu2+ is favored when the above conditions are promoted otherwise other states would be present.
There is a need for an easier method to make nanoparticles in an efficient way for industrial use.